zdl_cryptofandomcom-20200214-history
Band Protocol (BAND)
Basics * An Ethereum-based solution that incentivizes the creation and flow of valuable information through decentralized oracles. * Band Protocol has mentioned that they will eventually migrate to BandChain (10-2019). * From CMC (11-2019): "Band Protocol offers a decentralized data oracle by making data readily available to be queried on-chain, using delegated proof of stake ("dPoS") to ensure data integrity. It aims to be the go-to data infrastructure layer for Web 3.0 applications by providing decentralized, curated off-chain data to smart contracts through oracles managed by its dPoS consensus mechanism." * Had their mainnet launch on 30-9-2019. Binance Launchpad Sale * From Token Tuesdays (22-10-2019): "This past September, Band Protocol was announced as one of the premier projects to undergo a Binance Launchpad sale, raising $5.85M in exchange for roughly 12% of the total supply. At the time of sale, the base rate for BAND was set at $0.473, signaling a diluted market cap of around $50M. Shortly after the fundraise, Band Protocol went live on Ethereum main-net, meaning that the system is up and running today. BAND is currently listed on Binance, Bilaxy, and Dcoin with the dataset for Financial Data Token operational here. According to Etherscan, only 344 unique addresses currently hold BAND with the majority of the tokens still being held in the Band multi-sig wallet. While this seems rather small, the amount of individual holders is well above the listed addresses. During the Binance Launchpad sale, a total of 16,321 out of 35,579 participants won the lottery draw while the rest of the 19,258 participants received tokens from the 631,800 BAND airdrop (~32.80 per participant)." Token Economy * From Token Tuesdays (22-10-2019): "Band uses a dual-token economy to segment and incentivize unique data sets. This approach ensures that providers of any given set are compensated properly in the event that their information becomes more valuable than others. The token economy can be broken down into two unique assets: dataset tokens and the native BAND protocol token. '' Dataset Tokens'' Datasets are split into multiple Dataset Governance Groups, each of which utilize a unique token to stake, curate and govern information through mechanics like a Token-Curated Registry or Token-Curated DataSource. Without diving too deep, Token-Curated Registries (better known at TCRs) allow for different addresses to be whitelisted to participate in the respective ecosystem. In the context of Band, this means that a given address can be verified as being trustworthy or marked as having the ability to vote on any governance issues that arise (such as a dispute in the finality of a specific data point). '' ''In short, dataset token holders can become a "data provider" who is responsible for curating high-quality data that is fed to smart contracts, purchase data from a dataset or vote for data providers they trust to contribute valuable (and valid) information. Why Curate or Participate? Every time data is sold to a smart contract, rewards are distributed to providers pro-rata, with subsequent voters receiving a fraction of the reward. In short, data providers stand to earn an income by contributing valuable data whereas participants stand to earn from voting for that provider. Furthermore, competition from multiple datasets in similar verticals further drives the quality and demand for any given dataset. While the data governance tokens are unique, they are all secured by Band’s native protocol token, BAND, through a bonding curve. BAND Token BAND provides liquidity to data governance groups by serving as a primary value capturing mechanism in a few different ways. First and foremost, BAND is used as collateral to issue dataset tokens. As such, BAND token value is directly correlated to the value of the protocol’s datasets. As with many other strong token economies, BAND will be used to govern future protocol upgrades. In short, community members must acquire BAND to signal their opinion on changes to the protocol as a whole. Next, BAND is used to control dataset quality through a curated dataset registry. Similar to how an address can be whitelisted on a given dataset, Band Protocol maintains an active list of all verified datasets. In order for a dataset to join the registry, they must stake BAND as a proxy. Lastly, Band Protocol has mentioned that they will eventually migrate to BandChain, in which BAND will be used as a staking mechanism to secure the network via a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPos) consensus mechanism. Similarly, BAND will be used as the underlying currency for all that transactions that happen on the network. Protocol Dynamics Band Protocol relies on query fees to cover the cost of data providers and incentivize honest data curation. Whenever a smart contract issues a data query function call, it must attach a fee denoted in a blockchain’s native currency (ETH in the case of Ethereum). Query fees are split among providers and stakers based on a fee schedule determined by a group’s Governance Parameters. Band Protocol utilizes Uniswap to instantly convert the accepted currency (ETH) to BAND, which then gets converted to the dataset token through a purchase on the bonding curve. By doing this, regardless of what currency a dApp pays in, data providers and token stakers still receive revenue in their unique dataset token. Taking this a step further, this means that as the system acquires more query fees, more BAND will be locked in dataset bonding curves." Vs Chainlink * From Token Tuesdays (22-10-2019): "In comparison to an oracle project like ChainLink, Band’s functional product provides a strong foundation for us to make logical assumptions about the token’s future. As it currently stands today, the LINK token economy is theoretical. Band faces an uphill battle due to the brand that ChainLink has developed in the past year. With ChainLink announcing support from Google, it’s clear that the decentralized oracle market is shaping up to be an extremely competitive one to say the least. Beyond ChainLink, there are a number of other decentralized oracle providers, all with a similar mission to drive value through the curation of high-quality data." Cons * From Token Tuesdays (22-10-2019): "There are few dApps that need oracle information to scale. While this is highly likely to change in the coming years, it’s worth noting that until a killer dApps emerges that relies on oracle data to succeed, Band’s potential market is limited." Team, investors, partners, etc. * Soravis Srinawakoon; CEO * Srinawakoon mentioned that Band will be looking to explore DeFi partnerships. * To be integrated (17-10-2019) with TomoChain. * Partnered (14-10-2019) with Elrond and Wanchain. Category:Coins/Tokens